Building accounts for 39% of global greenhouse emissions, including 28% in operational emission, from the energy needed to heat, cool and power them, while 11% of emissions come from materials and construction (Bringing Embodied Carbon, 2022).
Reducing carbon emissions in buildings is crucial for achieving the Paris climate goals and net zero emissions by 2050. Though decarbonization in buildings poses a significant challenge, it also presents opportunities.
As the planet warms, people will require more air-conditioning in their homes and offices, which could also raise demands for electricity and hence carbon or GHG emissions. Therefore, having an energy-efficient home and buildings can have a crucial role in reducing air conditioning requirements and thus electricity demands.
Innovation and engineering designs can improve energy efficiency in buildings, reduce construction materials, particularly carbon-intensive ones, reduce waste, and incorporate recycling at the end of the products’ lives, further reducing waste and emissions.
An example of material innovation is the concrete slab insulation, SLABX200, designed by a New Zealand company, EXPOL, featured in Property & Build in its October 2021 to January 2022 issue (Kiwi Innovation, 2022).
This new generation of concrete slab insulators is made of expanded polystyrene board with a higher compressive strength (at 200Kpa) than anything available in the market.
Improved insulation can increase comfort, saving owners electricity bills for cooling and heating. Higher compressive strength means that it won’t degrade over time, and when it reaches its end of life, the product can be recycled to make other EXPOL products.
According to the team at EXPOL, manufacturing waste from making the concrete slab is also recycled in their recycling plants around New Zealand, thus creating a zero-waste process.
Another innovation in material design is from the researchers at ETH Zurich. To create a pre-cast concrete slab, they used 3D-printed formwork elements made from recyclable mineral foam. The result is a lighter and better-insulated slab that only uses 70% less material.
“The system, known as FoamWork, sees a conventional rectangular mould filled with 24 mineral formwork elements in different shapes and sizes before concrete is cast around them and left to cure, creating hollow cells throughout the panel. The resulting internal geometry was optimized to reinforce the slab along its principal stress lines, creating the necessary strength while drastically reducing the amount of concrete needed to produce it” (Hahn, 2022).
Scaling up the production could help lower construction’s carbon footprint, especially in cement, as the industry alone contributes to 7% of the world’s CO2 emissions.
The examples above are just two of the many construction and materials industry innovations. Demands for sustainability, resilience and climate mitigation solutions require low-carbon materials and processes, less waste, recyclability of products, and innovative construction designs that could improve energy efficiency.
Part of any Asset Management Plan is to address resilience and manage assets in a sustainable and environmentally conscious manner.
Hence, incorporating innovations in construction and materials design aligned with climate adaptation and mitigation, sustainability, and resilience goals in their decision-making and management is a step in the right direction considering the negative impacts of climate change, urbanization, population growth, and budget constraints.
Source:
Bringing Embodied Carbon Upfront. (2022). World Green Building Council. Retrieved from https://www.worldgbc.org/embodied-carbon
Kiwi innovation leading the way in concrete slab insulation. (2022, January). Property & Build. October 2021-January 2022, p.81. Retrieved from https://issuu.com/mediasolutions.asiapacific/docs/isn_oct_21_-_jan_22/81
Hahn, J. (2022, January 12). This innovation uses 3D printing to cut concrete use. Word Economic Forum. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/01/eth-zurich-3d-printer-concrete-carbon-emissions/
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